Budapest’s Beautiful New York Cafe

Budapest’s New York Cafe calls itself the “the most beautiful cafe in the world.” I haven’t been to all the cafes in the world, but this one is definitely a top contender.

The cafe is housed in the New York Palace, built by the New York Life Insurance Company as a head office in 1894. At the time, the cafe was a popular haunt of writers and artists. Sadly, it fell into disrepair after World War II, and reopened as a different cafe in the mid-fifties. Fortunately the cafe was restored to its original Italian Baroque glory in 2006 when the building was reborn as a hotel. It is now the New York Palace, The Dedica Anthology, part of the Marriott Hotels Autograph Collection.

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The menu includes Hungarian classic entrees, but with a full list of dinner reservations we went for the dessert and decor. The Opera Cake was our favorite.  The flavors were classic, but the presentation unique.

The Crunchy Hazelnut Cake was beautiful, but cloyingly sweet. The texture of half melted caramels lacked the crunch that was advertised in the title. We should have ordered a Hungarian dessert such as the Dobos Torte.

The Hungarian Coffee with Chili and Sour Cherry Palinka was an eye opener. The coffee accentuated the strong flavor of the local alcohol.

For us, the visit was all about the ambiance. If the beautiful paintings and endless building weren’t enough, we also caught a wonderful group of classical Hungarian musicians. A visit to the cafe is a welcome introduction to Budapest’s heyday.

Details

Hours – 8:00 – 24:00

1073 Budapest
Erzsébet krt. 9-11

The New York Cafe is a popular tourist destination.  Reservations are highly recommended and can easily be made online, or by calling +36-1-8866-167.  Guests of the hotel also get preferential seating.